High School Football Notebook: Week 2 FAC Preview

The second week of the high school football season starts Friday night for the Frontier Athletic Conference.

The FAC went 4-2 to open the first week of their non-conference schedule, and this week the teams will be playing similar opponents, as here is a look at the Week 2 football schedule for the FAC:

• Week 2 Schedule
Friday, Sept. 6
- Hillsboro (1-0) vs. Goshen (0-1)
- Chillicothe (0-1) vs. Mifflin (0-1)
- Jackson (1-0) at Athens (0-1)
- Miami Trace (1-0) vs. Wilmington (0-1)
- Washington (1-0) at Circleville (0-1)
Saturday, Sept. 7
- McClain (0-1) at Northwest (0-1)*
*Game to be played at Valley High School in Lucasville


• Week 1 Results
- Western Brown 14, Hillsboro 16
- Adena 41, McClain 14
- Chillicothe 0, Teays Valley 14
- Blanchester 0, Washington 26
- Miami Trace 42, Circleville 20
- Wellston 6, Jackson 23


• Week 2 FAC Previews

- Hillsboro Indians (1-0) vs. Goshen Warriors (0-1)

This is usually a strong matchup for both teams, as they’ve split the past two regular-season Week 2 meetings. The Indians won last season by a 26-7 score, and the previous year in 2017 it was Goshen winning, 39-15 at Richards Memorial Field.

Last week to start the season the Indians won over Western Brown, 16-14, scoring all of their points in the first quarter. The Warriors lost 6-0 to Archbishop McNicholas in Goshen.

In their loss, Goshen had -2 passing yards on five total passes with two completions. They also had two interceptions in that same game. Their rushing leader was Ashton Harris with nine carries for 62 yards, with a 6.9 yards per carry average and a longest rush of 23 yards. Quarterback Jack Webster totaled eight rushes for 38 yards, including one run of 18 yards. As a team, the Warriors finished with 105 rushing yards on 21 carries.

Goshen’s defense allowed 294 yards of offense to McNicholas, including 168 rushing yards on 42 rushes. The Warriors also had 10 penalties for 75 yards.

Defensively, Jarred Re led the Warriors with 13 tackles (all solo) with two sacks and three tackles for loss. Hunter Slusher totaled 12.5 tackles. Other defensive standouts included Austin McClanahan with six tackles, Logan Harrison with six tackles and Dylan Ashcroft with five tackles.

In Week 1, Hillsboro saw their defense hold Western Brown to no points in the second half, with a defense that stood strong on the final drive of the game, not allowing the Broncos to open up their passing game with the help of a strong defensive attack up front.

The offense of the Indians scored two touchdowns, and a two-point conversion run, but the first points scored came on a safety by the defense of the Indians, which again was because of strong defensive pressure at the line of scrimmage.

The two HHS scores came on a 1-yard run by Silas Simmons and an 11-yard touchdown reception by Hayden Hawk.

Unofficially, Mark Gallimore rushed for 118 yards on 20 carries, while Simmons finished with 16 carries for 75 yards. Also for HHS, Logan Hester rushed nine times for 46 yards, and quarterback Justin Spears finished with 37 yards rushing on six carries. Combined, the Indians unofficially totaled 297 yards of total offense, including 276 rushing yards.

This game could be very competitive with Goshen wanting to avoid going 0-2 to start the season, and with the Indians working on their offense, it should be exciting to see how things turn out at Richards Memorial Field.


- Jackson Ironmen (1-0) at Athens Bulldogs (0-1)

This is a strong southern Ohio battle with Jackson coming off a 23-8 win over Wellston last Saturday and the Bulldogs entering this game with a 30-27 loss to Waverly on their résumé. Jackson last weekend totaled 343 yards of offense, including 293 yards rushing and 60 passing yards.

Also, the Ironmen had three turnovers, including two interceptions and one fumble.

As for Athens, in their close loss, Peyton Gail totaled six rushes for 77 yards and a touchdown, while AHS quarterback Joey Moore finished with 10 rushes for 66 yards and one TD. Also at QB, Moore was 24-of-38 for 287 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, according to stats on MaxPreps.com.

The rushing game of Athens also had 50 yards on five carries from Corbin Stalder, meaning for the Ironmen to start 2-0 on the season, they’ll have to stop the positive rushing yardage gained by the Bulldogs. Last week, Athens totaled 203 yards rushing as a team.

That said, the Bulldogs also had 278 yards receiving on 25 receptions, including Nate Trainer having eight receptions for 72 yards. Stalder, Reece Wallace and Braeden Halbert all had touchdown receptions.

For fans attending this game on Friday night, it should be a fun sight to see as these two teams are facing each other for the first time since 2013. The last time these two teams met was in ’13 when Athens won, 49-0.


- Miami Trace Panthers (1-0) vs. Wilmington Hurricane (0-1)

Miami Trace faces Wilmington this week, and the Hurricane scored one touchdown in a 41-7 loss to Valley View. That touchdown was scored by Cameron Coomer.

The Panthers enter Week 2 looking to replicate their strong rushing attack they had against Circleville. In that game, MTHS totaled 352 yards rushing and 97 yards passing for 449 total yards of offense on 38 plays. In that win, they had two 100-plus yard rushers in running back Dalton Mayer (7-106-1) and quarterback Jayden LeBeau (6-131-3).

Also in that first game of the season, MTHS had possession of the football for just under 21 minutes. One part of their game that could hurt them is they did have three fumbles and lost all three last week.

What also makes this game fun is the “old school rivalry” aspect as they are both former members of the now-defunct South Central Ohio League. Last year, Wilmington defeated Miami Trace, 38-7.


- Chillicothe Cavaliers (0-1) vs. Mifflin Punchers (0-1)

Mifflin didn’t score a point in their season opener, falling by a 64-0 score at Walnut Ridge, and the Cavaliers were also held scoreless by a 14-0 score.

Last season, Mifflin was 2-8 overall, and they are a part of the Columbus City League, where they were 2-4 in their league games last season. Those two wins came against Beechcroft (12-7) and Linden-McKinley (33-6).

Also in ’18, the Cavaliers defeated Mifflin, 56-14 in a game played at Mifflin High School.

In their season opener last Friday night, Chillicothe’s stat leaders included:

- Christian Benson (QB): 8-for-18, 24 yards passing
- Hunter Thomas (RB): 14 rushes for 71 yards (5.1 ypc)
- Logan Snowden (WR): 2 receptions, 21 yards (10.5 ypr)

The Cavs have a good opportunity in Week 2 to gain their first win of the season after allowing just 14 points in the season opener.


- Washington Blue Lions (1-0) at Circleville Tigers (0-1)

The Blue Lions have a very good chance to go 2-0 to start the season and give Fayette County the season sweep over Circleville in their Week 2 game at CHS.

Washington scored in three of their four quarters played last week in the season opener, defeating Blanchester by a 26-0 score. Washington was led at quarterback by Ethan Rogers-Wright, who was 16-for-28 for 112 yards, with three touchdowns and four interceptions. Wright also rushed for 34 yards on eight carries.

Washington also had a 100-yard rusher as Jameson McCane rushed for exactly 100 yards on 21 rushes, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.

The standout for their defense in Week 1 against Blanchester was Garitt Leisure with 7.5 tackles and one interception.

The Washington defense has a good chance to have another strong game when they face Circleville, as the Tigers scored 20 points with 14 of those point coming in the fourth quarter.

Players to watch for the Tigers include quarterback Lucky Donaldson, who was 1-for-2 for 80 yards and one touchdown. He also had 10 rushes for 32 yards and one touchdown run. Catching the 80-yard TD pass was Scott Moats in the first quarter.

The rushing leader for Circleville last week was Cade Burton with 11 rushes for 84 yards. Defensively, the Tigers were led in tackles by Isac Payne with six tackles, while Moats and Colin Michael each had five tackles.


- McClain Tigers (0-1) at Northwest Mohawks (0-1)

One team will leave this game with their first win of the 2019 season, with the McClain Tigers coming off a 41-14 loss to Adena, while Northwest lost to Southeastern, 36-7.

The Week 2 game for McClain at McDermott will be played on a Saturday (Sept. 7), and the game will be played at Valley High School.

McClain finished last Friday with 157 yards of offense on 29 plays (23 rushes), having possession of the ball for 17 minutes. On the other side of the equation, the Tigers allowed 432 yards on 54 plays.

The Tigers were led in rushing by Braden Wright with nine rushes for 110 yards with one touchdown, averaging 12.2 yards per carry. Sam Faulconer was the leading tackler for the Tigers in Week 1 with 10.5 tackles, and Garrison Banks totaled nine tackles.

Northwest stat leaders included Austin Newman finishing 7-of-13 for 38 yards passing with one interception. Brayden Campbell led Northwest in rushing with eight carries for 103 yards and one rushing touchdown, including one run of 57 yards against Southeastern. Also keep an eye on receivers Billy Crabtree, Campbell and Timmy Emmons, as they had receptions in their Week 1 loss.

Northwest finished the game with 219 total yards and allowed 301 total yards.

This should be a competitive game, but neither team can afford to allow the big play and trail early, which both teams did allow in Week 1.